VoP Cleric

[monty]

I'm making my first Vow of Poverty character, and I'm looking for advice to finish it. There's already a barbarian and an offensive-oriented sorceror, so I'm planning to mostly focus on buffing and not dying, as well as noncombat skills. (Note: It's an undead-heavy campaign)

Here's what I have so far, comments on how to improve it are welcome.
Name: (still undecided, I'm taking suggestions for this as well)
Class: Cleric 2
Race: Human
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Deity: Hermes
Str 10
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 18
Cha 16
Available skill points: 15
Feats: Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, Nimbus of Light, Holy Radiance
Domains: Luck, Travel

Also, in regards to Vow of Poverty, the BoED is pretty vague on non-magical armor. Is it allowed or not?

[triforcel]

Actually the book is pretty specific. Your only possessions are allowed to be a simple, mundane, non-masterwork weapon, simple clothes with now magical properties, enough food for one day, a simple non magical sack, and a spell component pouch. Though you could probably get a wooden holy symbol in place of that.

[monty]

Ah, I didn't read that very closely before. I was mostly looking at the part that says, "no magic items." I suppose I was confused by the fact that it doesn't specifically exclude armor, but doesn't say you can use it either.

[PlatinumJester]

I would think you should be allowed cheap armours but if not you could take a level of Ninja and get you Wisdom bonus to AC while unarmoured.

[monty]

I would think you should be allowed cheap armours but if not you could take a level of Ninja and get you Wisdom bonus to AC while unarmoured.

I wasn't particularly worried, since VoP gives you +4 AC at first level. But for a cleric, extra armor is always nice.

[Crow]

VoP Sorcerer is always nice...

[Yuki Akuma]

VoP Wizard is always nice...

Sure, except for the fact that he can't own a spellbook or write anything into it even if he could.

[monty]

Either way, everyone's pretty much settled on their classes, and I'm the only healer.

[SilverClawShift]

Was about to say that. VoP sorcerer with eschew materials, and special attention to avoid spells with pricey components. If you're doing a VoP, that's probably the way to go.

Even then, it's harsh not getting magical items. But at least you ARE a magical item.

[Crow]

Was about to say that. VoP sorcerer with eschew materials, and special attention to avoid spells with pricey components. If you're doing a VoP, that's probably the way to go.

Even then, it's harsh not getting magical items. But at least you ARE a magical item.

My bad, I meant Sorcerer. Will edit to clarify.

[SilverClawShift]

Vow of Poverty Artificer :smallamused:

For when you want to be forced to find a new group of friends.

[CASTLEMIKE]

Vop Psion with Spells to Power variant might be nicer than Sorcerer since you would pick up a few more feats if not PRCing and access to all spell lists.

[Hasivel]

VOP spell components are easy, as the VOP entry specifically mentions that other players are allowed to "donate" components for the spells. You just have to let them carry the components for you.

VOP Artificer does bring up an interesting notion. Constructs are creatures, and as such are not "items" which would not technically trigger VOP, just as your familiar, mount, or leadership cohort wouldn't violate it.

Could a VOP Artificer have a huge swarm of construct pals he's made without violating the wording of the feat?

[Yuki Akuma]

You could only have a familiar if you summoned it before you took the feat, as it costs 100gp.

An Artificer with Vow of Poverty is worthless. He needs money to make constructs. ANd he needs items to cast his 'spells'. He's allowed neither.

[monty]

To further clarify: There is no other healer in the group. I need to play a healing class, or we will probably die quickly.

[Jack_Simth]

VOP spell components are easy, as the VOP entry specifically mentions that other players are allowed to "donate" components for the spells. You just have to let them carry the components for you.

VOP Artificer does bring up an interesting notion. Constructs are creatures, and as such are not "items" which would not technically trigger VOP, just as your familiar, mount, or leadership cohort wouldn't violate it.

Could a VOP Artificer have a huge swarm of construct pals he's made without violating the wording of the feat?
No - at least, not in my campaign.

Firstly, his resources aren't going to the cause of eliminating poverty (which is what the Vow of Poverty is theoretically about) - violating the spirit of the Vow.

Secondly, he still had to purchase the materials, which requires him to treat those moneys he used to get them as though he owned them (in direct violation of the vow).

Thirdly, most constructs are mindless automatons that are properly owned by somebody. He can't do that.

Mind you, if somebody else gathers the materials, body, and so on, and commissions a construct, it *might* be legal ... but then it's the person that commissioned the construct that owns it (and if the VoP character gives it any order other than "obey the guy who comissioned you" or similar, he's using the magic item, and in violation of his vow).

[CASTLEMIKE]

You could only have a familiar if you summoned it before you took the feat, as it costs 100gp.



No that is incorrect. The PC can Summon a Familiar if he wishes under Other Ramifications of Poverty by spending experience points at a rate of 1 EXP to 5 GP for costly components.

[Yuki Akuma]

No that is incorrect. The PC can Summon a Familiar if he wishes under Other Ramifications of Poverty by spending experience points at a rate of 1 EXP to 5 GP for costly components.

Summon Familiar is not a spell. No he couldn't.

It's a fine houserule, but he can't do it by RAW. And on these here boards, we discuss the RAW. :smalltongue:

[Eldritch_Ent]

It's a little OT, but if a Wizard took VOP in one of my games, I'd allow him a familiar and spellbook. (Albeit he'd have to use a plain books and plain ink, none of that fancy gold-leafed jewel-encrusted stuff most other wizards use.) Because refusing excess is one thing, but denying a class it's basic class abilities is another. :smallmad:

However, since I don't have by BOED on me right now, I can't really offer anything constructive except you should probably spend a few of your now huge number of feats on Divine Metamagic if your DM will allow it. :smalltongue:

[Hasivel]

No that is incorrect. The PC can Summon a Familiar if he wishes under Other Ramifications of Poverty by spending experience points at a rate of 1 EXP to 5 GP for costly components.
Actually my reading is that he is quite correct. Stuff you did before taking the vow doesn't count. That's why if VOP isn't your first level feat, you don't get all the exalted feats it grants, because by taking the vow at, say, level 18 you can buy all sorts of tomes and permanencied spells on yourself and a familiar and such and keep all the bonuses they give you after taking the vow. Instead you lose about ten exalted feats, which sounds harsh until you realize how much most of the exalted feats suck.

Hmm, contributing EXP in place of material costs for your constructs? After all you're (Presumably) adventuring in order to gather money to give to the poor anyway, having a golem army to carry the money to the poor for you and help gather it from unworthy evil creatures seems to fit the flavor of the feat to me.

[Guy_Whozevl]

Possibly, you could multiclass to Mystic Wanderer (a 3.0 Faerun prestige class) to get your Charisma to AC; more AC never hurts, especially since you don't want to get hit if you're the healer. No armor if you do that though.
The Saint template is something else you could eventually look into, with huge boosts to your survivability and main casting and turning stats. The nifty immunities, Wisdom to AC (stacks with Monk), and Magic Circle against Evil rocks too. Although it makes you lose caster levels (normally a big no-no), the benefits for this class far outweigh the penalties, especially against the undead.
A final suggestion is getting Vow of Nonviolence and Vow of Peace. Undead can still be slaughtered even with those feats, so all you get is a ton more benefits. Have any weapon that hits you shatter on a failed save. Yes please.
With the aforementioned ideas, if armor is ruled out, there is still a great way to get AC. If I'm not mistaken, all three ways allow some or all of the AC to apply to touch attacks, in case of Ghosts, Shadows, and/or Wraiths.
A final word of warning. Vow of Poverty begins to really suck at higher levels, such as 15+, if you ever get there. It kinda is shaky at lower levels too. Be mindful of that, as your power level compared to the rest of the party may fluctuate greatly.

[monty]

However, since I don't have by BOED on me right now, I can't really offer anything constructive except you should probably spend a few of your now huge number of feats on Divine Metamagic if your DM will allow it. :smalltongue:

Can't do that. My two regular feats (the one I get for existing and the one I get for being human) have to go to Sacred Vow and VoP, and the other two have to be exalted. I could add Divine Metamagic at 3rd level, I suppose, but I'm mostly interested in starting the character right now.

[CASTLEMIKE]

Post edit and deletion.

[CASTLEMIKE]

Summon Familiar is not a spell. No he couldn't.

It's a fine houserule, but he can't do it by RAW. And on these here boards, we discuss the RAW. :smalltongue:

RAW Page 30 Other Ramifications of Poverty:

A character who has forsaken material possessions may find himself at a marked disadvantage when it comes to CERTAIN NECESSARY EXPENSES, such as expensive mateial components.

My emphasis EXPENSES PLURAL, followed by "such as expensive material components" doesn't mean limited only to expensive material components.

So if a VoP sorcerer wants to Summon a Familiar he should be able to do it by the RAW under Other Ramifications of Poverty either by begging from his adventurer buddies who will receive many of the benefits of him having a familiar around or by spending experience.

By RAW there is also Page 41 with the Celestial Familiar Exalted feat. If your PC is able to acquire a new familiar you may receive a celestial as a familiar.

Prerequisites: Able to acquire a new familiar, minimum level requirement.

[CASTLEMIKE]

It's a little OT, but if a Wizard took VOP in one of my games, I'd allow him a familiar and spellbook. (Albeit he'd have to use a plain books and plain ink, none of that fancy gold-leafed jewel-encrusted stuff most other wizards use.) Because refusing excess is one thing, but denying a class it's basic class abilities is another. :smallmad:

:

IMO a good house rule for VoP wizards is to let them take the Spell Mastery feat as an Exalted Feat numerous times which will net them plenty of spells even more than a comparable sorcerer over time.

[leperkhaun]

There is no need for a sorcerer/cleric/druid to take eschew materials, as a spell caster with VoP can use regular spell components. You are only restricted from owning spell components with a listed cost.

The wording of VoP means that you dont have to give your ALL of your share away, just most of it (80-90% seems like a good amount).

With the left over your party can buy and keep the expensive components (such as those needed to raise dead) and just hand it over to you when you need to use it.

EDIT: Changed a fat finger

[Quietus]

The wording of VoP means that you dont have to give your ALL of your share away, just most of it (18-90% seems like a good amount).

Would you do us a favor and quote the portion that says this, or tell us which page? Considering that it expressly forbids you from owning or using just about anything that costs money (Yeah, I shorthanded it, whatever), I'd like to know what part you think says that giving away 18% of your findings is enough to satisfy the feat.

[leperkhaun]

oppps sorry, i fat fingered that. It should have read 80-90%.

Anywho, Whats ya'lls take on the party buying a wand of cure, then the VoP cleric using it to heal the others?

Is this against the nature of the Vow, OR is it similar to the party buying and keeping expensive components for spells?

[monty]

oppps sorry, i fat fingered that. It should have read 80-90%.

Anywho, Whats ya'lls take on the party buying a wand of cure, then the VoP cleric using it to heal the others?

Is this against the nature of the Vow, OR is it similar to the party buying and keeping expensive components for spells?

Wands are magic items; the VoP can't use it regardless of who buys it.

[greenknight]

Wands are magic items; the VoP can't use it regardless of who buys it.

Lots of good stuff a VoP Cleric can't use. For example, the caster level increasing Orange Ioun Stone and Bead of Karma (from a Strand of Prayer Beads). You also can't use metamagic Rods, Incense of Mediation, a Pearl of Power or similar things to boost your spellcasting. And in an Undead heavy game, you can't use a Phylactery of Undead Turning. All of which are in the DMG. If you have other sourcebooks available there's a lot of other goodies you miss out on as well.

If you really want to be a VoP healer, I suggest you go with Druid, since Druids don't get as much benefit from items anyway.

[lord_khaine]

as i recall there are rules for using other peoples items, with a example about using a potion someone else gives to you.

so it should be possibel to use a wand if a party member hands it to you and asks to be healed, but you cant run around with it yourself.

[greenknight]

so it should be possibel to use a wand if a party member hands it to you and asks to be healed, but you cant run around with it yourself.

That's specifically disallowed (read the feat description). If the character ever casts a spell from a scroll, wand or staff, all benefits of VoP are lost forever.

[Rad]

It has been proved several times that WBL cash can get all that VoP gives and more, except for the exalted bonus feats, but they are not that great and are usually more than surpassed by the "more". Not to mention that equipment is customizable and you might rather want a metamagic rod than the ability to avoid eating and breathing. The only good uses are where normal equipment is forbidden, such as in plot-related situations or, more importantly, wild shape, hence the idea that the only VoP characters should be druids that wildshape into battle.
Moreover, you are not allowed, by RAW, an holy symbol but you can get one via a cantrip (SC).

Ah, and you pay 2 of your eight feats for the privilege :smallfrown:

That said, a player in a (real) game of mine had it and kicked ass with it because the DM didn't give us any items (I had a +1 armor at level 12 and almost nothing else), so... consider what you DM's policy is going to be.

[Temp]

Yeah, I had a DM who'd been stiffing us on Magic Items for an entire campaign (By level nine I, for instance, (Swashbuckler/Wizard, the only meleer in the party) had a +2 Lance and a set of +3 Half Plate of Heavy Fortification. Other people were equipped similarly. The DM kept claiming we were ahead of WBL and shouldn't complain--I don't think it works like that if magic items aren't allowed to be Bought/Sold.).
We decided to alternate DMs because ours was getting tired and we were pretty much just fiddling around at the end of the intended campaign. The guy expects us to welcome his Vow of Poverty character. What ended up happening was his first replacement dropping ten levels worth of goodies on us in one session--irking the first DM into DM fiating it all away the first time it was his turn to run the game.

I should probably do a better editting job on that, but I need to get some food now.

[edit:]
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Wait... those two items you mentioned, just those two things alone, have market value of 72,000 gp. That's more than the level 9 WBL already, and I assume you had other items.That's not a safe assumption. I think the only other item of any value I had was a Masterwork Alchemical Silver Dagger.

[monty]

Yeah, but VoP is interesting to roleplay, which is mostly what I'm going for with it. That being said, I don't want to needlessly weaken my character, which is what this thread is about.

[greenknight]

The DM kept claiming we were ahead of WBL and shouldn't complain--I don't think it works like that if magic items aren't allowed to be Bought/Sold.

Technically, your DM is correct. In practice though, I think only the stuff the PCs find useful should be counted at full value, the rest should be counted at half market price (or whatever the PCs can sell it for). Or to put it another way, if your characters have something they don't really want, sell it. Then you'll see for sure whether your characters are at, above or below your WBL.


Yeah, but VoP is interesting to roleplay, which is mostly what I'm going for with it. That being said, I don't want to needlessly weaken my character, which is what this thread is about.

The problem is that VoP doesn't really work all that well with most spellcasters, although it can be alright with Druid and Sorcerer. If you really want to roleplay VoP without weakening your character too much, choose one of those.

[brian c]

VoP Cleric isn't terrible, and in a game that you know will have lots of Undead, the Holy Radiance feat is a pretty darn good one to take. Still, Exalted feats in general are pretty crappy. See if your DM will let you use some of those, later on, for normal feats that fit the same general theme.



Yeah, I had a DM who'd been stiffing us on Magic Items for an entire campaign (By level nine I, for instance, (Swashbuckler/Wizard, the only meleer in the party) had a +2 Lance and a set of +3 Half Plate of Heavy Fortification. Other people were equipped similarly. The DM kept claiming we were ahead of WBL and shouldn't complain--I don't think it works like that if magic items aren't allowed to be Bought/Sold.)

Wait... those two items you mentioned, just those two things alone, have market value of 72,000 gp. That's more than the level 9 WBL already, and I assume you had other items. That's not stiffing you, that's just giving you whatever random s*** he rolls on a table, as ridiculous as it may be for your party, and not letting you trade it. This is one reason why I don't use the treasure tables.


And when I say "more than" above, I mean double the WBL for level 9. So doing the "halve the value of useless things" method would still say that the party is perfectly equipped for their level.

[Woland]

In my opinion, you should just take Vow of Wealth instead. The perks are much better.

[monty]

Ok, this seems to be getting off-topic again. Also, most of you seem to be missing my point - I want to play a VoP cleric, and I'm looking for advice to make a good VoP cleric, not reasons why I should play something else instead.

[BardicDuelist]

Ok, this seems to be getting off-topic again. Also, most of you seem to be missing my point - I want to play a VoP cleric, and I'm looking for advice to make a good VoP cleric, not reasons why I should play something else instead.

Level of Ninja for Wis to AC. You cannot wear armor, will have a rather annoying limit on material components (since many good cleric spells are costly), and one normal weapon. For feats, well your first two are covered, and divine metamagic should be on the list (it is less cheesy because you have VoP and thus actually need those boosts). As far as exalted feats: They suck, so I really can't help you there. Maybe see if your DM will let you take Divine Feats or somthing instead.

Actually, divine feats (especially those in CW) would be good choices for your character.

Ofcourse, the fact that you cannot own a holy symbol makes everything difficult (it is not a material component, so it doesn't count there). If your DM will let you have one, then a VoP cleric can work, but if he doesn't, then you are basically screwed. VoP seems to be designed for monks/sorcerers/druids.

[Idea Man]

You could always add monk/sacred fist to your cleric levels in the future. Sacred fists can't use weapons, but the spellcasting progression is good, and BAB is one-for-one. Of course, you'll have the wisdom bonus to AC, improved movement, higher unarmed attack damage, and good saves! Not to mention the sacred flames (eh), blindsense (10 ft., not bad), and the inner armor once/day (+4 sacred bonus to AC and saves, SR 25. Now we're talkin'!).

Sure, you do have the slight problem that you can't drop the class unless you never want to come back to it, but it's nice enough to keep, and the restrictions won't hinder a VoP cleric too much.

Basically, it adds to your clerics mobility and survivablility, which can be handy when you can't rely on equipment to bail you out.

[Grynning]

Personally, I think the OP's feat selection is fine. All of this debate over items a VoP character might "need" seems somewhat off-topic - if someone chooses to play a character who is devoted to the ideals of a Vow of Poverty, they won't be trying to cheese their way into being able to use items. Remember, BoED is meant for people who want to play "Exalted" characters - folks so good and honest that they get special powers for it.
And BTW, we had a VoP Cleric in the highest-level party I ever played in (lvls 18-24) - he certainly did not need items. Ever.
In short, I like your concept, stick with it. Just realize you'll have to ration your spells a bit more since you won't have access to wands and scrolls and you'll be fine. Taking feats that help you heal without burning spells are good - there's one, somewhere, that lets you burn a turn attempt to give the party fast healing for a little while, which is awesome at low levels. Sorry I can't remember the name or book right now, but maybe someone else on the board does.
Edit: Found it - Sacred Healing, Complete Divine, p. 84. Unfortunately you can't get it til lvl 5 (requires 8 ranks in heal), but it's still good.

Also, pretty sure you can carry a simple wooden holy symbol. It's not magical, masterwork, or even expensive (1gp, as compared to a spell component pouch which costs 5gp). This is a case where RAI pretty much have to overwrite RAW, since I don't think they'd put in a feat that's based on real-life clergy that pretty much excludes clerics by not allowing them to have a holy symbol.

[Toliudar]

You've done some things very right to make VoP as workable as possible for your cleric. Taking human allows you to get VoP right away, and your stat array will keep you focused on spellcasting.

Nymph's Kiss is a great feat, and if you can talk the DM into changing the fluff from Fey to some other unusual creature (I've seen it used with a lantern archon, or the spirits of the character's dead parents), it'll fit into many concepts.

Intuitive strike will eventually be a great feat for you to have. Nimbus is a fairly weak feat, but flavourful - although one character I had with that feat was immediately dubbed the "Light Bulb".

Best of luck with this!

[Tor the Fallen]

Sure, except for the fact that he can't own a spellbook or write anything into it even if he could.

Tattoos?

sdgsdgdfharhdfh

[AKA_Bait]

Ok, this seems to be getting off-topic again. Also, most of you seem to be missing my point - I want to play a VoP cleric, and I'm looking for advice to make a good VoP cleric, not reasons why I should play something else instead.

At the risk of being aside from what you want again, may I suggest you consider a Favored Soul instead of a cleric and going into celestial mystic from there? I have a player in my game who is doing just that and is thrilled with his chracter.

I would also suggest a quarterstaff as a weapon. It's good thematically as well as a decent and really cheap weapon.

Also, which God do you worship?

[Brawls]

VoP Cleric isn't terrible, and in a game that you know will have lots of Undead, the Holy Radiance feat is a pretty darn good one to take. Still, Exalted feats in general are pretty crappy. See if your DM will let you use some of those, later on, for normal feats that fit the same general theme.




Wait... those two items you mentioned, just those two things alone, have market value of 72,000 gp. That's more than the level 9 WBL already, and I assume you had other items. That's not stiffing you, that's just giving you whatever random s*** he rolls on a table, as ridiculous as it may be for your party, and not letting you trade it. This is one reason why I don't use the treasure tables.


And when I say "more than" above, I mean double the WBL for level 9. So doing the "halve the value of useless things" method would still say that the party is perfectly equipped for their level.
Heh. I'm a ECL 7 Fighter/Warblade and I have a +1 magic hand axe! :smallmad: That's it!. All my other gear is masterwork quality, but the magic is weak in our campaign. Also, no going into cities and just buying stuff and a long history of no PCs taking item creation feats. I'm half way to VOP Fighter, maybe I should look into it.:smallbiggrin:

Brawls

[Nerd-o-rama]

Sigh.

Three options:

1) Ask your DM if you can carry a wooden holy symbol instead of a spell component pouch. They amount to the same thing.
2) Ask your DM if you can have a holy symbol tattoo'd on or something.
3) Carry a quarterstaff, and claim it's a holy symbol of Hermes. You know, Caduceus and all that.

As for actual gameplay, you won't be as cheesy as a VoP Druid, but since you're mostly going to be casting spells rather than fighting, a lack of magic items won't hurt as much as, say, a fighter. Just play like a regular casting-focused Cleric. Divine Metamagic is an option, but not one I can recommend. Quicken and Extend Spell feats, focus on buff and ranged damage spells.

[TheLogman]

Favored Soul is a possibility for you, since they're the free-winged spontaneous brother of Clerics. You could then slap Vow of Poverty and those other feats on it, and it would be even more thematically appropriate. Plus, you have more slots for healing, don't need a holy symbol, and it's just cool. However, you don't get Domains, and I don't believe you get Spontaneous healing either. On the Bright side, you get D8 hitpoints, which lets you stand on the front lines while healing or buffing without the Armor Clerics have, and you can spend those extra spell slots on self-buffs and other fun stuff.

[Toliudar]

Or, if you have no intention of every being a melee beast, consider the Cloistered Cleric option. It's not core, but it is widely available online as part of the d20srd.org (www.d20srd.org) site. Give up armour that you're never going to wear anyway, and go for a few fewer hit points and worse BAB for a ton more skills and knowledge.

[monty]

Hmm, I'm debating taking Vow of Peace for my next 2 bonus feats, just to really screw with my DM. Opinions?

[TheLogman]

Don't, please, please, please don't. Doing so means neither you nor your allies can kill ANYTHING on purpose. No, not even if you turn around, close your eyes, or take a nap, says so right in the Feat description. If you really wanna just heal, the Healer isn't Terrible, but it's just a Cleric with more spell slots, but just healing spells.

[monty]

Don't, please, please, please don't. Doing so means neither you nor your allies can kill ANYTHING on purpose. No, not even if you turn around, close your eyes, or take a nap, says so right in the Feat description.

As far as I can tell, there isn't anything against letting your allies kill stuff - just as long as you don't do nonlethal damage or cast Hold Monster or something like that.

Quoted from BoED: "To fulfill your vow, you must not cause harm to any living creature (constructs and undead are not included in this prohibition). You may not deal real damage or ability damage to such creatures through spells or weapons, though you may deal nonlethal damage. You may not target them with death effects, disintegrate, or other spells that have the immediate potential to cause death or great harm. You also may not use nondamaging spells to incapacitate or weaken living foes so that your allies can kill them - if you incapacitate a foe, you must take him prisoner." Then some stuff about what happens if you break it.

Nothing prohibiting looking the other way while your allies kill stuff; nothing against healing or even buffing them while they kill stuff. As far as I can see, it means I can't Doom something, but I can still Cure or Bull's Strength the barbarian while he's killing it.

[TheLogman]

Huh, I guess I was reading something else then, that, or my bad memory got the best of me again. Still, you really shouldn't do Vow of Peace or Nonviolence as a Cleric, since Clerics are more of a militant type anyway. Healer wouldn't be a bad choice for dedicated healer if you really want to take Peace/like unicorns or both. Druids also aren't bad at healing at higher levels, and if you drop Peace and Nonviolence, Druids are great with Wildshape and Poverty. If you wanna go Peace and Wildshape, you could shape into a Boa constrictor or a Black Bear, and just grapple stuff until they are pinned and then tie em up.

[monty]

Or, if you have no intention of every being a melee beast, consider the Cloistered Cleric option. It's not core, but it is widely available online as part of the d20srd.org (www.d20srd.org) site. Give up armour that you're never going to wear anyway, and go for a few fewer hit points and worse BAB for a ton more skills and knowledge.

That looks like it might go well with Vow of Peace as well.

[RandomNPC]

it says spell pouch, ask to change it to holy symbol, it's the equivalant of what you need for non-costly spells.

also, ask about this: if the party has extra loot they can not carry, but would like to take back home, can you, with no intention of proffiting yourself, carry a bit of the weight to help your friends get something for themselves?

on feats, i'm AFB (away from book) but there's a feat that lets you deal some kinda dammage (cold?) anytime you touch something evil. at low levels that's reason enough not to grapple you. later on when a dragon swallows you, you don't have the small blade to cut yourself out, but you deal the contact damage anyway. that feats ok. actually, i think that feats friggin hilarious.

[Cruiser1]

As far as I can tell, there isn't anything against letting your allies kill stuff - just as long as you don't do nonlethal damage or cast Hold Monster or something like that.

Quoted from BoED: "To fulfill your vow, you must not cause harm to any living creature (constructs and undead are not included in this prohibition). You may not deal real damage or ability damage to such creatures through spells or weapons, though you may deal nonlethal damage. You may not target them with death effects, disintegrate, or other spells that have the immediate potential to cause death or great harm. You also may not use nondamaging spells to incapacitate or weaken living foes so that your allies can kill them - if you incapacitate a foe, you must take him prisoner." Then some stuff about what happens if you break it.
Do summoned monsters count as allies? Could you have say a Cleric or Druid summoning build where you summon monsters and let them kill stuff for you, and maintain Vow of Peace?

[Arbitrarity]

Violates the spirit of the vow of peace horribly if you do.